Here’s a powerful, heartbreaking, but inspirational story of ex porn performer “Sunset Thomas” (@SunsetThomas) — who was in the porn industry for decades, (she made over 200 films), and who also worked for years in Nevada’s legal brothels.

Now known by her real name Diane, this article shares her story, describing the horrific toll that the sex industry took on her because of how she was so used and abused by the men in her life. (Mostly personally, but sometimes professionally, as those worlds were often connected.) It also shares how incredibly difficult it was for Diane to leave the sex trade.

“Thomas explained to a reporter how many of the men in her life poached off her decades of earnings, first in the porn industry and later in brothels that capitalized off her high profile adult industry name. She said despite the fact she spent over two decades in the profession – her name and face known throughout the world – she has little to show in the way of savings.

“I’m finally out,” Thomas said. “I was tired of the stress and people forcing me to do things I don’t want to do. I’m tired of people trying to pressure me to keep doing it when I don’t have to do it. I want to live a normal life like everyone else.” […]

“The conditions at the brothel where she was working were prison-like with two week, 24/7 lockdowns,” Dr. Martin said. “It was an existence for her that became more and more unbearable, mentally and physically. She wanted to leave, but the money she was making for them was an incentive for them to keep her in it.” […]

Stanley [Diane’s mother] said it was difficult to hear her daughter say over and over again she didn’t want to live that kind of life anymore.

“I heard her cry and say she did not want to do these things,” Stanley said. “But no one would help, until Robert (Martin). She and Robert had been friends for a long time and when she called and asked him for help he went and got her, but she was nearly dead.”

Stanley was referring to Thomas’ poor state of health when Martin retrieved her from Las Vegas, where she had gone into hiding after being beaten and injured by someone she declined to immediately identify. After rescuing Thomas from a bad situation, Dr. Martin nursed her back to health, Thomas’ mother said.”

READ THIS FULL, INSPIRATIONAL, AND MOVING STORY AT THE LINK BELOW: (And please don’t forget to like, comment and share to spread the word and support the cause. Thanks! :-))

NOTE: For some reason the reporter inserted a random short section in the middle of the article that shares a bishop’s opinion on women leaving the sex industry. While everyone is free to practice any faith or none as they choose, Diane has written on her Twitter account that she is spiritual and not religious, so she’s not following the religious aspects of the path that this bishop advises, who is someone who is not connected to Diane.

And to be clear, women in the sex industry are *exploited* by pimps, johns, husbands and boyfriends, etc. So those who are committing the greatest transgressions (“sins”, per the bishop) are not the women in prostitution, who are usually just trying desperately to survive, but the (almost always) MALE EXPLOITERS. It is these men — not the women they’ve exploited — who should be seeking “redemption”, by coming clean and making amends, etc. The bishop does provide some other solid advice, though, about exited women finding a new set of friends for support, who aren’t in the sex industry.

In any case, we wish Diane all the best with whatever path she chooses to take from here on out that helps her to heal and prosper in her new and healthier life.

Go Diane! Well done on your new life! We support you and are grateful for you sharing your story to inform, help, and inspire others! 🙂

GOOD NEWS from Ireland! They’re adopting the Nordic Model for prostitution of criminalizing only the sex buyers — while decriminalizing the prostituted women. Yay team! 🙂

“The Immigrant Council of Ireland has welcomed the move, which it said was an important first step in “wrecking the business model” that had allowed pimps and traffickers to profit from exploiting women.

The Council has been lobbying heavily for changes in the legislation for quite some time, highlighting the high number of women who have been trafficked into the trade, as well as violence, criminal and sexual assaults, and exploitation that are commonplace.”

Here’s evidence that shows that “Fifty Shades of Grey isn’t just “harmless fantasy.” It fuels real life sadomasochism and prostitution. ~~~

[TRPWL] – Sheri’s Ranch, the legal brothel and sex resort located outside of Las Vegas, has seen an increased interest in its BDSM services since the release of the book Fifty Shades of Grey in 2011, and anticipates an even greater interest with the release of the film adaptation in early 2015.

The massive success of E. L. James “mommy porn” series has resulted in a 5% boost in bookings of the brothel’s BDSM suite, where courtesans provide, among other things, introductory training in sadomasochistic erotic acts involving dominance and submission.

Dena, the brothel’s madam, directly attributes this jump in BDSM reservations to the book’s success, since more and more women are enquiring about the services.

“It’s not a coincidence that more women and couples between the ages of 35 and 50 are booking our dungeon room. The 50 Shades of Grey book has introduced many women to bondage and discipline, and a percentage of those readers would like to act on their interests. Sheri’s provides a safe and private environment for women to experiment with the world of BDSM, and we anticipate the film will generate even more curiosity.”

“The trailer for the film adaptation of the Fifty Shades of Grey book became the most watched trailer of the year in less than one week. If the trailer is any indication, this film will have an even greater effect on our business than the book had,” said Dena.

——————–

Well, there you have it folks! The book and film are indeed “just fiction”, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t impact real people’s behavior in real life.

“Fifty Shades” actually DOES influence people to engage in REAL LIFE SADISM AND MASOCHISM — and sometimes prostitution — in addition to bondage, discipline, domination and submission. (All of the practices that the acronym “BDSM” stands for.)

So, the next time you hear someone saying, “It’s just a book!”, or “It’s just a movie!”, feel free to share this post with them…

———-

NOTE: If you’d like to check out or reference the full article, scroll down to the posts from August 8, 2014 on the page below. (It is a reposting of the original article, which is at a site with porn ads, so we didn’t want to put a link to that.)

Yay! Prostitution is now illegal in Canada! Plus there’s a new focus on DEMAND — through prosecuting pimps and johns — and on helping women exit the sex trade and transition to better lives. See basic details below, and the full press release covering all points at the link.

“The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act is a “made-in-Canada” model, which directly targets the demand for this dangerous activity. The Act would introduce tough action to crack down on pimps and johns. For the first time, the purchase of sexual services would be criminalized, with tough penalties for those who exploit others through prostitution. The proposed legislation would also protect and safeguard our communities-in particular women, children, and those who are at risk of being drawn into prostitution-from the dangers associated with prostitution, including violence, drug-related crime, and organized crime.

“This model involves a significant overhaul of the Criminal Code’s treatment of prostitution and related activities. It would:

— Criminalize those who fuel the demand for prostitution, i.e. purchasers of sexual services;

— Continue to criminalize those who financially benefit from the exploitation of others through prostitution, such as pimps, and those who procure others for the purpose of prostitution;

— Prohibit advertising for the sale of others’ sexual services in print or online;

— Immunize those who sell their own sexual services from criminal liability for any part they play in the purchasing, material benefit, procuring or advertising offences;
Protect our communities by criminalizing communicating for the purpose of selling sexual services in public places where a child could reasonably be expected to be present;

and

— Increase existing penalties relating to child prostitution.
“These measures will be supported by $20 million in new funding, including to support grassroots organizations dealing with the most vulnerable. Assistance will be provided to those who want to leave this dangerous and harmful activity; therefore, there will be an emphasis on funding programs that can help individuals exit prostitution.”

NOTE: We acknowledge that this is not the same or as ideal as the full Nordic Model that abolitionists were hoping and working for, but it is still a HUGE improvement from previous laws, and an even greater leap from what pro-sex industry people were going for. So we consider this to be a significant success and an enormous step in the right direction. Go Canada! 🙂

Did you know the majority of porn performers also engage in ILLEGAL PROSTITUTION with their “fans”? True fact! Read the full article quoted below. Additionally, sometimes they HAVE to do it just to keep doing porn, because their agent or company forces them to! One more reason of many why the porn industry is very corrupt and should NOT be supported.

When Milano first entered the industry, an adult performer openly escorting was relatively rare: “Escorts were considered dirty, bottom of the barrel. Nobody was open to admitting they did it.” Yet by the time she returned less than a decade later, the industry had changed drastically: the talent pool was larger, the number of available roles much smaller, and the advent of digital piracy had driven performers’ rates down. Escorting, or “working private,” has become one of the most lucrative ways for adult performers to supplement their flagging incomes, with many earning up to thousands of dollars for a single booking.

Because escorting is illegal in the state of California, the trend is rarely openly discussed outside industry circles. Yet the rise of escorting is something of an open secret in the San Fernando Valley, where an estimated 90 percent of porn is shot. “If you look at the escort sites, pretty much every porn star is on there,” the adult performer Houston told me a few months ago. “I think pretty much everyone is doing it now.”

While the consensus is that most agencies will turn a blind eye to escorting, Kross says that some agents will actively do double-duty, booking their talent for shoots as well as for privates. “They’ll lock girls into a contract and literally hold them hostage if they don’t agree to escort for them,” she says.

Here’s a thought-provoking article by Katha Pollitt (@KathaPollitt) calling out the Left on their support for prostitution. Go Katha!

“It’s one thing to say sex workers shouldn’t be stigmatized, let alone put in jail. But when feminists argue that sex work should be normalized, they accept male privilege they would attack in any other area. They accept that sex is something women have and men get (do I hear “rape culture,” anyone?), that men are entitled to sex without attracting a partner, even to the limited extent of a pickup in a bar, much less pleasing or satisfying her. As Grant says, they are buying a fantasy—the fantasy of the woman who wants whatever they want (how johns persuade themselves of this is beyond me). But maybe men would be better partners, in bed and out of it, if they couldn’t purchase that fantasy, if sex for them, as for women, meant finding someone who likes them enough to exchange pleasure for pleasure, intimacy for intimacy. The current way of seeing sex work is all about liberty—but what about equality?

I thought the left was about that, too.”

READ THE REST OF THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE AT THE LINK BELOW: (And please don’t forget to like, comment and share to spread the word and support the cause. Thanks! :-))

PLEASE NOTE: This article was written by a feminist Leftist and is not criticizing ALL people who identify as “Leftists” or “feminists,” only those who support “sex work,” because, as the author correctly points out, such support is inconsistent with the stated true ideals of both the Left and feminism.

Important new research has been released showing how to best reduce DEMAND for sex trafficked women and children! It also clears up certain myths about certain ways of reducing sex trafficking…

“As well as profiling buyers the Immigrant Council of Ireland examined if the men ever came across women they believed were being controlled by pimps, were frightened or were trafficked. The results are startling, with over one in four admitting they had come across women and girls they believed were in such situations. A significantly lesser number considered to report this to the authorities, dispelling the myth that buyers are helpful in tackling human trafficking.”

Much more vital info at the link below! Please check it out and share! 🙂

Anti-Porn Film and Slideshow. Plus Stop Porn Culture Info

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** A GROUND-BREAKING documentary about pornography is available! **
Visit the site HERE for
"The Price of Pleasure: Pornography, Sexuality and Relationships."
See clips: I.e. Noam Chomsky on "choice" in porn.
See the whole film HEREright now at Media Education Foundation.
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*** The AMAZING and very eye-openingStop Porn Culturevideo slideshow "Who Wants to Be a Porn Star?" is available on the Internet! It exposes the true harsh reality of the porn industry and analyzes it with many profound and disturbing insights. To watch it right now click HERE.
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** STOP PORN CULTURE Info **
-- NEW SLIDESHOW: "It's Easy Out Here For A Pimp: How a Porn Culture Grooms Kids for Sexual Exploitation." Available for download from Stop Porn Culture website.
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If you'd like to be get future SPC updates emailed to you, please request HERE.
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The "Who Wants to Be a Porn Star?" slideshow is SPC's first line of offense in the battle to reclaim this culture from the misogyny, racism and brute power of
the pornographers. Please join SPC in the struggle for a violence-free world.
StopPornCulture.org
NOTE: Please contact SPC HERE for information about buying a copy of the slide show if you can't
attend a training.
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